This holiday season in local theater has brought noticeably fewer Christmas shows than in the past.

Whether in response to the country’s political climate or by coincidence, most of the theaters in Northern Delaware are skipping the sleigh bells and carols in favor of productions that capture the feel of the season without trumpeting Christmas.

Add Chapel Street Players to that list, with their seasonal offering, the musical “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” directed by Jeff Robleto and based on Charles Schulz’s classic Peanuts cartoons.

“Charlie Brown” is a series of vignettes about life as played out by Schulz’s most beloved characters: Charlie (Jason Tokarski), Lucy (Rebecca Gallatin), Linus (William Bryant), Sally (Katy Brady), Schroeder (Gabrielle Rambo), and, of course, Snoopy (Caitlin Custer, delivering a charismatic performance in her CSP debut).

Most of the classic Peanuts scenarios are included, from Snoopy’s World War I Flying Ace fantasy to the Baseball Diamond to the brick wall Linus and Charlie lean on to commiserate.

Peanuts is a comic about small children who, in their own small child world, are philosophical, well-read and cultured (well, some of them, anyway). The musical casts adults into these roles, adding another layer.

As Charlie battles with depression, Lucy starts on a path to self-actualization. Schroeder plays his toy piano, which in their world sounds like a grand piano playing Beethoven. Sally realizes she herself, not her teacher, controls her life. When played by grown people, the themes are highlighted.

As she does in the drawn versions, Gallatin’s headstrong big sister Lucy steals the show, and Brady’s quirky little Sally is, well, very Sally.

Of the boys, Tokarski’s always-down-on-his-luck Charlie stands out as the least offbeat (he has no inanimate addictions like Linus’ blanket and Schroeder's toy piano), and he’s the most grounded out of all of them. He's also the most unhappy, something the vignettes remind the audience constantly. But he really is a good “man.”

“Charlie Brown” does reference the TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” one of the more religious Christmas specials for kids, but there is no Bible reciting here. Instead, they sing a song called “Happiness Is,” as they decorate the set with the uncommon sincerity you expect from Peanuts.

Holly Quinn is a Wilmington freelance writer.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Chapel Street Players

WHEN: Through Dec. 16

WHERE: 27 N. Chapel Street, Newark

TICKETS: $18, $12 for seniors, $5 for students.

TO BUY OR FOR MORE INFO: (302) 368-2248 or www.chapelstreetplayers.org/.